State investigating Fond du Lac County's third infant death in less than year

MADISON - Wisconsin Department of Children and Families is investigating a third infant death that occurred in Fond du Lac County within a seven-month period.

In the latest death, the state is looking into alleged maltreatment of a 5-month-old boy, the department is reporting.

Fond du Lac County sheriff's deputies responded to a residence about 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 18 at W627 Mill Road in the town of Auburn after a 22-year-old man called 911, stating he believed his 5-month-old son was dead.

The infant was reported not breathing, without any pulse, and was pronounced dead at the scene upon the arrival of the sheriff's department.

The state also continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of an infant shortly before midnight on Oct. 15.

Fond du Lac Police were called to a residence on South Military Road in the city for a report of a 3-month-old boy who was not breathing. Officers who arrived on the scene began performing CPR, but they were not able to revive the infant, said Assistant Chief Steve Klein.

Both the mother and father of the child were home at the time.

An autopsy was conducted by the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office, with the cause of death still undetermined pending toxicology and other testing.

An investigation conducted by the state, in cooperation with Fond du Lac County Social Services, is describing the 3-month-old's death as a "suspected egregious accident."

The death of a 2-month-old Fond du Lac infant on June 25 was found to be consistent with non-accidental head trauma and maltreatment, according to the state. Evidence pointed to physical abuse of the infant by the mother and neglect by the father.

Klein said the baby girl's death was ruled a homicide, but no charges have yet been filed by the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office.

The infant's 1-year-old sister, was deemed unsafe, and placed at the home of a relative.

In November 2017, social services investigated alleged neglect by the infant's mother and father to the older sister. The case was closed after the agency determined no intervention was needed, the state reports.

District Attorney Eric Toney said he would not comment on the status of the case, as it is still under investigation.